Credit to the Nigerian government increased by N17.39 trillion in the year to May 2026, reflecting continued growth in public-sector borrowing despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s relatively tight monetary policy stance.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria showed that credit to government rose to N40.38 trillion in May 2026, from N22.99 trillion in the corresponding month of 2025.
The figure also represented an increase from N39.60 trillion recorded in April 2026.
The rise in government credit came as banks continued to increase their exposure to public-sector instruments, while private-sector credit recorded a comparatively modest monthly increase.
What the data is saying
A further analysis of the CBN monetary statistics showed that the N17.39 trillion year-on-year increase represented a 75.6% rise in credit to government between May 2025 and May 2026.
- On a month-on-month basis, credit to government rose by N779.70 billion from N39.60 trillion in April 2026, representing a 2.0% increase.
- Credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased to N81.04 trillion in May 2026 from N80.59 trillion in April 2026, representing an increase of N456.21 billion or 0.57%.
- Private-sector credit remained more than twice the level of government credit, standing at about 2.01 times government credit in May 2026. However, its 0.57% monthly growth rate was lower than the 2.0% increase recorded for government credit.
The figures indicate sustained growth in banking-sector lending to the government, alongside a more gradual expansion in credit to businesses and households.
More insights
The increase in government credit reflects lenders’ continued participation in financing public-sector borrowing requirements through loans, advances and investments in government securities.
- Nairametrics had earlier reported that
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Read Full Article by Olalekan Adigun at nairametrics.com
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